make out

verb

made out; making out; makes out

transitive verb

1

: to complete (something, such as a printed form) by supplying required information

make out a check

2

: to find or grasp the meaning of

tried to make out what had really happened

3

: to form an opinion or idea about : conclude

how do you make that out

4

a

: to represent as being

made them out to be losers

b

: to pretend to be true

made out that he had never heard of me

5

: to represent or delineate in detail

6

: to see and identify with difficulty or effort : discern

make out a ship through the fog

intransitive verb

1

: get along, fare

how are you making out with the new job

2

a

: to engage in sexual intercourse

b

: neck sense 1

Synonyms

• cope
• do
• fare
• get along
• get by
• get on
• manage
• shift

Examples of make out in a Sentence

we're not rich, but we're making out all right

I can't quite make out what she is trying to say.

Recent Examples on the Web

When law enforcement searched her home in January, authorities found gold coins, pieces of gold, a pink wallet with a $2,599 U.S. Treasury check made out to someone else, a 1953 Topps #1 Jackie Robinson MLB Brooklyn Dodgers baseball card and U.S. currency, according to the plea agreement. —Julia Marnin, Sacramento Bee, 10 Feb. 2025

It’s still made out of Louisiana and very popular amongst Texan home cooks, as well as many others in the South who can find it at their grocery store or on Amazon. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 1 Feb. 2025

There were various horns that were played — made out of bone — and there were flutes. —Jared McCallister, New York Daily News, 31 Jan. 2025

It's made out of 10-karat white gold and has 16 carats of trillion cut diamonds for the shark's teeth and black round brilliant cut diamonds behind the teeth. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

make out

verb

1

: to draw up in writing

make out a shopping list

2

: understand sense 1a

how do you make that out

3

: to represent as being

made her out a hero

4

: to see and identify with difficulty

make out a form in the fog

5

: succeed sense 2

make out well in business

6

: to engage in kissing and petting